Senate Panel Says Company's Strategy Allowed It to Defer or Avoid Paying Some U.S. Taxes

Caterpillar Inc. has deferred or avoided paying $2.4 billion of U.S. taxes under a corporate restructuring 15 years ago that shifted most of the profits from overseas replacement-part sales to a Swiss subsidiary, according to a Senate subcommittee report.

Sen. Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat who chairs the Senate's Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, said at a news briefing that the maker of construction and mining equipment "waved a magic wand" to make tax liabilities disappear. When big companies find...